Here we look back at some photos from the Oxford Mail archive from 1972.

It was 51 years ago when the Westgate shopping centre first opened. Following it revamp in 2017 it now looks very different.

Also in 1972, prisoners at Oxford prison protested about prison conditions by scrambling onto the roof.

Read again: Looking back at the early days of Westgate

It was the year the Westgate Centre in Oxford opened for the first time.

It reopened in 2017 followed a £440m revamp.

In 1972 the £1.8m Westgate Shopping Centre opened with a large Selfridges and a Sainsbury’s.

Oxford Mail:

But plans to revamp it took many years and included many false starts.

READ AGAIN: Travellers cause large clean-up operation

In 1999, artists’ impressions of Capital Shopping Centres’ £220m revamped mall were unveiled.

In 2000, Oxford City Council approved the Westgate extension application but Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott threw out the plans.

The decision was overturned but CSC withdrew its application and in 2006 submitted fresh plans for the £300m redevelopment of the Westgate Centre.

In 2010, CSC sold the Westgate Centre to the Crown Estate and Land Securities, which forms a consortium named Westgate Oxford Alliance.

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Oxford Mail:

In 2013, Westgate Oxford Alliance signed a development agreement with Oxford City Council and in 2014 plans for the £440m revamp of the centre are approved and it opened in October 2017, with 100 new shops and restaurants, a cinema and rooftop terrace.

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About the author 

Andy is the Trade and Tourism reporter for the Oxford Mail and you can sign up to his newsletters for free here. 

He joined the team more than 20 years ago and he covers community news across Oxfordshire.

His Trade and Tourism newsletter is released every Saturday morning. 

You can also read his weekly Traffic and Transport newsletter.

Ben Hardy